Antwan Scott defends trip to North Korea

By By Adam Thompson, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 at 07:39 PM.

Scott believes Rodman’s relationship with Kim, and his outburst on CNN, was blown out of proportion.

“Dennis, out of all the guys that I’ve met, he has the biggest heart, especially for kids,” Scott said. “He loves to give back. He will do anything for anybody at the drop of a dime. Most of the time, he’s the quietest guy in the room. That whole trip, he wanted to stay away from the politics and take more of a closer look at what he was trying to do.”

Scott returned to the states on Friday night, and has received feedback, both positive and negative.

The 6-foot-8 former And1 star, who went by the nickname 8th Wonder, is grateful for his supporters.

“We got a lot of positive feedback, and a lot of negative feedback. A lot of the negative feedback, I think, was more from people closer to the military, which I can understand,” Scott said. “When it’s all said and done, I think they will get a better understanding of what we did and why we did it, instead of thinking of the politics side of it. I tell everybody to not judge me or any of the guys on this trip based on the politics. What we did was good.”

Adam Thompson can be contacted at 252-635-5669 or at Adam.Thompson@newbernsj.com. Follow Adam on Twitter @Adam_matic.

New Bern native Antwan Scott tries to stay away from the political arena when it mixes with his sport of basketball.

But on his most recent mission, it was hard for him to completely avoid the controversial subject.

Scott, who played his college basketball at Wake Forest, was invited by former NBA star Dennis Rodman to play an exhibition game in North Korea this past week.

The group included three of Scott’s friends from the And1 Streetball Tour, along with former NBA players Kenny Anderson, Doug Christie, Clifford Robinson, Vin Baker and Charles Smith.

The trip was overwhelmed with questions on politics and Rodman’s highly-publicized relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“All we wanted to do was go there and build a relationship through the sport, not the politics,” Scott said. “I stay away from the politics and things. Being around for as long as I’ve been around, I know how that stuff works, so I don’t feed into that stuff. It made national news and it’s ground breaking. Nobody from here has ever done that. There’s no telling what can come from this.”

The exhibition game, played in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, made national headlines. It was played on Kim’s birthday. The plan was widely criticized because of Kim’s brutal dictatorship.

North Korea’s human rights record, threats against the United States, development of nuclear weapons, and its role in capturing American missionary Kenneth Bae were cited as reasons against Americans participating in the exhibition game.

“They won’t put the politics aside, and that’s what I am learning being home,” Scott said. “I can give them my story, and it all comes back to the politics. That’s not my job, that’s not why I was there, that’s not why my name was called.”

Scott said he had only good intentions for joining Rodman’s squad. He knew what he was getting into when he agreed to play basketball in North Korea.

“Who wouldn’t do research? I knew about North Korea. I knew about Kim and the stuff that goes on,” Scott said. “It’s not like I was blind to it, like a lot of people are saying.

“I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. We’ve been planning this trip for a while. It’s been postponed two or three times.”

The purpose of the trip, Scott added, was to start a positive relationship between North American and North Korea — a task he felt was a success.

“They welcomed us with open arms. It wasn’t what I expected,” Scott said. “Once we got there, and the plane landed, they were outside waiting for us. We got off the plane, went into this little building, they got our bags, and everything after that was first class. They showed a lot of love.”

Scott has a passion for working with kids in the area, interacting with the public and sharing his basketball knowledge.

He was looking forward to bringing that to another country.

“It’s crazy because all we did was something we do every time we go out,” Scott said. “The only thing different was that this made national news. I go into different countries, into different cities and different gyms and I teach basketball and encourage kids to do the right thing.”

Scott’s been to 22 countries, touring with former NBA players and streetballers. But because of the political stances, this one received more national attention.

Scott, who played his high school ball at New Bern High and then at Oak Hill Academy, said one thing he will always remember was when Kim walked into the gym to take his seat.

“We were standing in the tunnel before we ran onto the court. The leader wasn’t inside the gym,” he said. “When he came inside the gym, 15,000 people stood up and they were clapping.

“They were clapping and chanting for 20 minutes. I got chills and everything. I stuck my head out and people had tears and screaming.”

Scott believes Rodman’s relationship with Kim, and his outburst on CNN, was blown out of proportion.

“Dennis, out of all the guys that I’ve met, he has the biggest heart, especially for kids,” Scott said. “He loves to give back. He will do anything for anybody at the drop of a dime. Most of the time, he’s the quietest guy in the room. That whole trip, he wanted to stay away from the politics and take more of a closer look at what he was trying to do.”

Scott returned to the states on Friday night, and has received feedback, both positive and negative.

The 6-foot-8 former And1 star, who went by the nickname 8th Wonder, is grateful for his supporters.

“We got a lot of positive feedback, and a lot of negative feedback. A lot of the negative feedback, I think, was more from people closer to the military, which I can understand,” Scott said. “When it’s all said and done, I think they will get a better understanding of what we did and why we did it, instead of thinking of the politics side of it. I tell everybody to not judge me or any of the guys on this trip based on the politics. What we did was good.”

Adam Thompson can be contacted at 252-635-5669 or at Adam.Thompson@newbernsj.com. Follow Adam on Twitter @Adam_matic.